


E.M.P.I.R.E

by roseey



Category: SEVENTEEN - Fandom
Genre: Action, Actor Wonwoo, Crimes, Doctor Joshua, Hitman Seokmin, Hoshi is a mystery, Lawyer Jihoon, M/M, Mafia AU, Mild Angst, Mob Boss Seungcheol, Police officer chan, Sexual Themes, ceo jeonghan, chaebol mingyu, dating and stuff, designer hao, hacker vernon, mob boss junhui, police officer Cha Eunwoo, strategist boo
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-01
Updated: 2019-11-01
Packaged: 2021-01-16 12:17:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21270929
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roseey/pseuds/roseey
Summary: One nation.One Grand crime network.Now add some feelings to the equation.Two cops out to wreck the carefully laid connection.Who will come out winning?





	E.M.P.I.R.E

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time treading through a concept as such and hope this will turn out well.   
A small tip: listen to Fear while reading this.

A lighter was flicked on and a blue flame caught the ends of the pale white cigarette. 

With a rattle, the flame was put to off and immediately the foul smell of nicotine and burn saturated the musty air of the back room. It isn't a common place for two colleagues to hang out. It's far from the type of location you'd choose to discuss stuff with. 

Because every brick of this back room is imprinted with angry wails and splash of blood. This room of inquiry has a reputation to withhold: existing as the designated visiting place for the nation's most wanted criminals.

The senior police Inspector, Mr.Song sat on the table tainted with dried blood, not disgusted in the slightest. He puffed out rings of smoke, his wrinkled skin shrinking further when he levels a scrutinizing gaze.

'You know why I called you here, Lee Chan?'

_Lee Chan, aged 22. Assistant Inspector of Korean National Police Academy. _

The way he was asked announced explicitly to the young officer Chan, that what's about to go down. In all honesty, Chan knows, given the way his senior is crazily chasing after the most notorious and complex network of illegal businessmen, _except _he says otherwise.

'I don't, sir.' 

The answer was crisp, giving place to no second thoughts. 

A dry chuckle unceremoniously ejected out of the senior's throat. 'Well, Good that I can share some information which I gathered seeking crest and trough of this Seoul city.' 

Chan smiled. 'You really did work hard, Mr. Song.'

Senior Song ignored the compliment in the favor of taking a deep drag from the stick. The crow feet at the edges of his eyes gave away his age but the shining crystal clear orbs simply reflected his intellect and sensible side.

'I'm going to tell you about thirteen people who rule this country silently. More powerful than the Government we work for even. Honestly had me rocked away and blown when I was exposed to the reality. Sometimes I feel like I shouldn't have started this particular investigation in the first place. The more I discovered, the more hopeless I felt.'

The disappointment was heavily discernible. 

Chan had his eyes trained hard on the Senior. For someone who's young and inexperienced, a police officer at that, Chan appears to be a man higher in scale, fishing out dirt with a sniff and calling out plans like it's no big deal. 

Probably that is why the senior had personally invited him over for a chat concerning this _reality._

'Please do tell, although I'm not sure what purpose this conversation holds.' 

The elder showed his back, dropping the cigar down with one long puff. 

'Oh, you are gonna love this. Take your seat Chan, it's going to be long, but interesting- surprising even.' He said, smirking. Chan deadpanned, although one could easily spot the unmasked inquisitiveness and borderline nervousness. 

'As I was saying. This Seoul city is decorated with so many shades, but we mostly deal with the darker ones assuming the bad ones are always out in the night catching stars. How wrong were we.' 

The senior folds his hands over his chest, in a defending manner, but the way his legs stayed rooted apart spoke volumes of his commanding- first step attacking nature. 

'Do you know Yoon Jeonghan?' 

Chan's eyes did a little dance, circumnavigating the entirety of the investigation cubicle. The choice of place seems a little bizarre, considering why two police officers would even need sound proof laden compartment. 

'I don't.' 

'He's a big Industrialist. I'm surprised you don't know this man. Anyhow, he's a brilliant entrepreneur and he manufactures automobiles. He was trained to take over since the age of sixteen. His father gave him down the small private industry. Yoon Jeonghan relabeled it as a corporation. People were envious of him, not only for his achievements but also for his ethereal looks. He had people courting him left and right.' 

Chan grinned, fiddling with the edges of his seat. 'Oh, I'm now tempted to take a look at him.' 

The senior smiled. 'It's easy. All you have to do is a google search. Back to the topic. I have a question for you, Chan. Why do you think this young man is so successful compared to the pioneers of this field?' 

Chan cocked his head. 'You told me he's been put under intense training session. I would be mad if it didn't give me a upper hand over others.' 

The Senior shook his head. 'Talent is not enough for running and leading people twice your age and thrice the population of a village. You need _power _to rule a pack.' 

'So, he's powerful?' 

The elder shook his head again, adorning an earnest look. 'He has someone who is powerful. Powerful behind the point of our imagination. His followers call him the _Lord._ He rules the black night of every day and is a mountain peak compared to the bloody criminals we put behind the bars. No one knows where he lives or what car he drives. But the moment you see his face, you know death has come for you.' 

The junior officer snorted. 'You really are good at putting the words together. I wanna know this so called _Lord_.' 

'His name is Choi Seungcheol.' The Senior says with eyes filled to brim with pure trepidation.

'Lord of the Mafia Gangs. Has men, power, money and most importantly, an iron fist ruled by a merciless heart that lost the concept of leniency.'

A pregnant pause follows.

'Okay now, what business does Choi Seungcheol have with this Yoon Jeonghan?' Chan asked, impatience evident in his voice. 

'He gives Jeonghan everything for one thing he doesn't have: a mask to cover his underground atrocities. Any transactions, business to be made,it is done in the name of Yoon Industries. And he got 38% of shares from the company which means he's an important share holder. Choi is gifted with more than what he bargained for."

Chan licked his lips. 'It seems-_symbiotic_'

Mr.Song shrugged. 'But their personal lives are damaged beyond repair. They both.....have this weird dynamics that drove me crazy when I observed them from afar.' 

'Woah, you really did follow them all the way? Damn that's some serious dedication.' The younger said in a disturbed manner. 'And I'm kind of _creeped_ out as well.' 

The senior chuckled. 'You are talking as though you've never heard the concept of going undercover.' 

Chan flinched a little but covered up the act well with a practiced smile. 'So...you were saying?' 

'They both are opposite forces but some harmony does exists between them. I was caught a little off guard by some of their interactions. Let's say that it's not worth the mention.' 

'Let me get this straight.' Chan leaned his elbows on the table. 'Is their relationship not platonic?' 

The Senior nodded uncertainly. 'Could be, it can be their greatest weakness for their enemies. You know how people in this line of business tend to avoid getting involved in anything that makes them emote but hey- I found certain someone who proved my theory wrong.' 

'A romantic thug? Interesting.'

Mr.Song smiled. 'He's the favorite character of my investigation actually. Took me less than 24 hours to decipher him.' 

Chan remained silent. 

'Like every man needs a weapon to defend and wage war with, Choi Seungcheol needs Lee Seokmin. This hit-man is tall, dashingly handsome with bronze skin and has impeccable eyes.' 

'Looks like you're in love with him.' The younger playfully jabbed the senior officer and the way the latter disregarded the comment made the notion all the more convincing. 

'And this Lee Seokmin possesses a killer smile and can murder someone without leaving a trace behind. His own men and himself are avid followers of Choi Seungcheol for introducing them into the scene and are loyal to a fault.' 

Chan groaned. 'Please quickly tell me who he is romantically interested in?' 

'When you lead a gang of hit-man, it is not possible to get treated without rousing questions about his line of work. But there's this doctor who always tends to Lee Seokmin and his men. He's Dr.Joshua Hong, General Physician from California. His father runs a multi specialty Hospital and its network in South Korea, a fellow supporter and benefactor of Choi Seungcheol.' 

'So, love blossomed in ICU?' 

'They are not there yet. Seokmin is madly chasing around the young doctor and the latter is acting all coy- at least from what I gathered. Although Joshua is inclined to follow the Choi's order, he's doing the treatment care for Seokmin and his men, owing to his thick friendship with Yoon Jeonghan. They attended Pledis High together before they parted ways.' 

Chan's eyes enlarged in bewilderment. 'How the hell did you figure out that?' 

Mr.Song lit up another cigar. 'That was easy. I found Joshua's records. I have seen the duo meeting up at high end restaurants quite a few times. Seokmin had accompanied them in most of the cases but when they sit and interact-just the two of them-they ooze this intense closeness that we can see only between two close friends.' 

'Okay, now. Jeonghan, Seungcheol, Joshua and Seokmin- who's next?' 

'Lawyer Lee.' 

'Lawyer Lee who?' 

The senior scoffed. 'I'm having serious doubts in your ability. This frigging man appears in tabloids like it's his birth right for his wit and practice of winning every case he attends. It is Lee Jihoon, you dimwit!' 

'Oh, him!' Chan's eyes comically contorts in realization. 'Heard that he protects law with his own hands or something?' 

Mr.Song snorted. 'I call bullshit on that. He is the mafia Lord's thickest friend. In fact, he's trained to be one until his father decided not to bring his only child into the scene anymore. Some perceived that Mr.Lee loved younger Choi more than his own son. I'm not sure about that. But all I could chalk up was if Choi's facing any legal problem, Lee Jihoon will appear for him in secrecy before the law.' 

'Seungcheol is riding on Jihoon's back, don't you think?' Chan asked.

He received a negative response. 'He's earning millions in sum from the man himself. Lee Jihoon's the calculative type of person whom you'd wish you never meet in life. Kind of derives and presents all scenarios with every loop hole to the point that no one can snatch victory from his hands.' 

'And the catch is?' 

'It's almost sad that he's building his real future with a man who has no real identity.' 

Chan looked completely engrossed in the narration. 'No real identity?' 

Mr.Song hummed. 'You see, he's apparently very much in love with a man whom he thinks is an owner of a dance studio and a pro choreographer. But he's not just that. In some way, he's Choi Seungcheol's man. I'm not sure how he's related or what he's doing- but he's definitely not a common man.' 

'So an ultimate reveal is due.' 

'Pretty much and if that dancer boy- _Kwon Soonyoung-_ proceeds to be with Lee Jihoon for ulterior motives, things could get rattled out of control for the man in the big chair, and also getting Soonyoung out of equation is not a choice considering how he's the man of many connections.' 

Chan groans, feeling a headache in horizon. 'You could have plotted some mind map with this.' 

The senior leveled him a look of judgement. 'As a junior, you should be able to swallow all data with accurate figures. The plot thickens here actually. This Kwon Soonyoung here, was the central force that convinced Black Dragon Wen Junhui to come in association with Choi Seungcheol.' 

'I think I know a little about this Wen Junhui. He's a top shot gang leader from Shenzen, isn't he?' 

'Yep.' Mr.Song nodded. 'And not only that, he has connections with Russian Bratvas, like Seungcheol has with Japanese Yakuza. It's all in all, a complete network. But none can hold candle to the friendship Junhui and Seungcheol has, in fact I'm about to say something more interesting.' 

'Which is?' 

'I was pretty sure that the network met its end and that there's nothing more left to discover. Unsurprisingly, I stumbled upon a pic online that heavens blessed me with. You know actor Jeon Wonwoo, right?' 

Chan's eyes enlarged. 'Don't tell me he works for the Choi too! I'm his fan!' 

Mr.Song chuckled. 'Relax. He's not that bad. Black Dragon Junhui and him attended the same school together. Wonwoo's supposed to work for Junhui as his underling. Despite the hierarchy difference their friendship brewed and sustained distance with time difference.' He heaved a sigh.' Aren't you curious how Soonyoung got into contact with Junhui?' 

Chan deadpanned. ' They came into contact, huh? Maybe because Soonyoung is friends with Wonwoo. Did they go to same college or what?' 

'It's actually more deeper than that. This Jeon Wonwoo rose to success in the speed of light and no one batted an eye at that. Sure he's a talented actor but with no promotion and basically little to no introduction, this boy managed to land himself in a lead role for a drama followed by a movie. Can you guess who influenced that?' 

The younger reached out his hand. 'Can I have a smoke first, please?' 

'Answer me first.' Came the silent command from Mr.Song. 'I'm not your pal and we are not chilling out here.' 

'Fuck.' Chan hissed as he ruffled his hair. 'Because Seungcheol is his brother or something.' 

'He's not associated directly with Choi! Wonwoo's father trained his son to work undercover for the Black Dragon. But Junhui adamantly refused to take up the boy into his clan as he deemed it unsafe and felt that his friend deserved a peaceful lifestyle.' 

'How cute.' Chan said with a cheeky smile which the senior completely ignored. 

'Junhui did his best to offer opportunities for Wonwoo and he did succeed. Soonyoung became friends with Wonwoo in one season and I'm not sure how he managed to drag Wonwoo into the mess again, but the veteran actor is now playing a vital role in their grand scheme. Every time, a rumor rouses affecting Choi's network, an idol dating scandal or dirt on any actress gets revealed. And Wonwoo acts behind it. Not only that, he organizes parties where business deals take place- it's like he's the distracting light of the source.' 

Chan rises on his feet and walks to the senior. 'Can we just go and arrest them? I feel like we are wasting our time here mulling over their mastermind.'

'I'm not even done at this point, Chan. We need to have solid proofs and catch them in their act. You need to remember that as long as Lee Jihoon is above the waters, no one can touch them legally.' 

Subdued, Chan settles down with a silent huff. 'And whom do we have left?' 

'Kim Mingyu.' 

'_Who_ is he?' 

'You said you follow Jeon Wonwoo.' 

'I'm not his _sasaeng_.' Chan rebutted. 'I only know things which he lets on.' 

'Fair enough. This Kim Mingyu- He is in an on and off relationship with Wonwoo, I assume. I'm not very sure, why because, at one occasion I found them sucking faces and then in the another, Mingyu and Wonwoo completely ignored each other.'

'Why does the nature of their relationship even matters?' The younger asked. 

'When a man begins to think and emote, then he sure will exhibit signs of weakness, which people of these kind can't afford to have.' 

Chan ignores the notion in the favor of clearing another doubt. 'In what way Mingyu is related to this mess?' 

'Kim Mingyu owns the _GOD PARK_ star Hotel and its lines in South Korea. Pretty much an iconic business man, but not only that, he's the second Grandson of the Nation's Chief Minister.' 

Chan sighs, slamming his palm flat on the table. 'No way we would be able to book them. Look at these powerful people lined up behind!' 

Senior Song chortled. 'Imagine how hopeless I must have felt when I discovered this piece of information. Also, Mingyu accompanies Seungcheol to foreign nations while making deals on trading ammunition for gold.' 

'Please tell me about the next one already!' Chan asked, exasperated. 

'Xu Minghao.' 

'Sounds Chinese' 

'He is.' Mr.Song walked behind Chan. 'He runs the Xier Clothing line, a top brand in China and South Korea. He manages the riskiest part of this whole business deal.' 

'And what that it would be?' Chan inquired. 

'Arranging locations, transport and relaying information between China and South Korea. No one can question him regarding the arrangement as he does everything in the name of setting up model photo shoots, campaigns and carrying goods of clothes. I petitioned the Government to run a check up on Minghao's residence as well as his office and guess what happened-' The senior stubbed out the cigarette by pressing it on the wooden table. '-the Government refused to pass it.' 

'Mingyu helped him get out of it, didn't he?' 

'Yup!' Mr.Song nodded. 'My dear friend working for the Government passed me down the info that someone from the ruling party urged the appeal to be discarded. And later I discovered that Xu Minghao has two very important relations: He is best friends with Kim Mingyu, a regular at his hotel and also my informant spotted him with the Black Dragon Wen Junhui.' 

'Minghao and Junhui are fucking each other?' 

The Senior shrugged. 'Don't know much about that. Nothing could penetrate Junhui's security system and it was a hassle to even take a glimpse of his face.' 

'So that makes 10 off 13, who are the remaining three?' Chan faced his superior. 'I bet they are some high profile people too.' 

'They are not publicly well known, but these three I assume are the master keys that protect the core of this well built empire.' 

Chan closed the distance between him and the Senior. 

'Chwe Hansol. He is Choi Seungcheol's younger brother. He lives in Hongdae, away from the Lord, but literally hacks into all security systems from his seat. He resides in a shambled humble apartment and together lives an obnoxious man from Jeju, named Boo Seungkwan. His parents left him at an orphanage and he was brought up under Jeonghan's care before he joined the party. Seungkwan leads the strategy and plans the meetings. He is infamous for his intuition and instinct.' 

'Lemme guess.' Chan said in a low voice. 'They both are very affectionate with each other.' 

'Are they?' Mr.Song turned around. 

'Are they not?' 

'I didn't dig deep much about them. It's hard to, as they are pretty closed off.' 

'Sucks for you. Anyways, the last one?' 

Mr.Song sighed. 'You should find that out for me, Chan. Honestly I have a reason why I called you here.' 

'What reason?' 

The azure blue sky turned dark grey when the muted sound of a gun shot went off. Moments later Chan came rushing out with a panicked look and trauma heavy in his eyes. Minutes in, Security surrounded the location of the isolated inquiry room as Chan began to anxiously narrate the incident. 

'Senior-Senior Song shot himself after asking me to look after a case!' 

The Senior Superintendent shook Chan out of his troubled self. 'You need to tell us clearly, Mr.Lee or else we might end up considering that you caused his death.' 

'Sir.' An officer from the crime scene arrived, momentarily interrupting Chan and the Senior Superintendent. 'Senior Inspector Song's body was found with a gun in his hold. Doesn't seem like a homicide, considering the angles and posture. Forensics will be here in few minutes.' 

The superior dismissed the man with a wave of his hands and looked pointedly at Chan. 'What case was Mr.Song talking about?'

'Choi Seungcheol.' 

A look surfaced past the officer's face and he recovered quickly in a blink of an eye. 'You will not tell this to anyone, Mr.Lee. I will tell you how to address the Press and how you will answer the commissioner. For now, you may take a day off somewhere,preferably not in the city.' 

Chan left the place as fast as he could, driving out from the station's parking in a frenzy. 

'Fuck.' He hissed in annoyance. 

**Author's Note:**

> So, what do you think?


End file.
